Sunday, January 13, 2008

They Blinded Me With Science

I seriously doubt that I was the only one who was blinded by the science of the Indianapolis Colts offense. Somehow the temporary blindness of Manning's insane arm and array of receiving threats convinced me that they wouldn't lose to the team that was the most poised to pull off the upset this weekend. San Diego already beat Indy this year one time. And sure it happened right after the Colts' close loss to the Juggernaut known as the Patriots, but don't teams that lose close ones usually have huge bounce-back games? Aren't the Bolts, featuring the same cast of characters that beat them today, the squad that spoiled Indy's run at perfection two years ago, sending them from 13-0 to 13-1? We should have seen it coming. But we didn't. We were blinded by the scientific insanity of Peyton's arm, which still managed to shock and awe me even on their last two drives, just throwing bullet after bullet. But it was those other parts, that I assumed would do enough to win, that let Indy down: the Running game (aka Joseph Addai) and the Defense. The Chargers punted only three times, and Addai ran for exactly forty-three yards. Meanwhile, Billy Volek looked exactly how a backup QB should today: Slow and steady, which always wins the race, not to mention very mistake-free. And even without LT, the man-bear known as Michael Turner punished Indy's front four to milk the clock, gain easy first downs, and keep SD away from dangerous 3rd-and-long situations where Volek and certainly Rivers would have made costly mistakes. Speaking of Rivers, what in the hell is this guy's problem? Did anyone else see him running up to, and showboating in front of, some Indy fans when the clock ran out? Wow that guy is mediocre at best AND has no class. But we didn't see that...we were blinded by an illusion. Congrats to New England, the Lombardi Trophy is all but yours.